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"Well done, Ms Mack"
His tone was playful, but tinged with so else Satisfaction Dare she hope, happiness? A warm sense of pride warmed her from the inside out as he slid a hand up her back to cover her nape before toying with her hair
If she ood as heto enjoy every second of this Seize the moment Soak it all in She refused to think about what tos would be like after their last scene
And she wasn’t even going to conteo back to real life after the fantasy that was Rafe Davenport
Chapter Ten
"Where do you think you’re going?"
She’d been rehashing the night with Rafe over in her head for the thousandth ti, nasally voice sent a wave of disgust through her, and she paused on her way to the elevator, fixing a tight s home, Barry Like people do when their shifts are over"
Her two fellow nurses, Rhonda and Shelby, suddenly got really busy--looking unco papers around at the aze locked on hers Courtney shifted the stack of patient files to her other arm She’d planned to take the dread settled over her at the cold gleaaze
She’d seen it before Several ti He actively enjoyed ruining people’s days He took joy in the misery of others He treated ee In a word, he was a big, fat asshole, with a capital A, and he got off on abusing his relative power
"Chyeah, about that Look, I wish I could spare you, but it looks like we’re going to need you to stick around for a double shift again tonight" The faux regret pinched his thin lips, but didn’t make it to his beady ice-blue eyes
Exhaustion settled over her like a water-saturated blanket Weeks of screwy sleep schedules due to last- a serious toll on her, and the thought of spending another eight hours at as enough to make her throat ache with frustration
"Look, Barry, I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep and I--"
His thick brows caether in a thunderous frown even as his weak chin wobbled with indignation "If your evening activities are too rigorous for you to be in tip-top shape to do your job, then maybe you need to prioritize better, Ms DeLollis Now either you can take those files down and co another nurse who is a little more dedicated than you are to fill your position"
Rhonda and Shelby had done aith the pretense and had gone silent as they watched the scene before them, sympathy written all over their faces Barry had delivered a pretty lo, but ht
Granted, she hadn’t been scheduled to work the day after her night at the hotel with Rafe, but even noo days later, she was a little tired Guilt nipped her hard and she was about to apologize when souy think he was, treating her that way? He ht to talk to her like she was a piece of crap on his shoe
She straightened and returned Barry’s glare with a vengeance "What I do with my time off is none of your concern, and the insinuation that I would ever come to work in a condition that could be detrionto it with a snap before whipping around to face hiain
"My contract is for five shifts a week When there is an e but acco to treata back-to-back shift so I can do a bunch of busywork that could be done any time, then you’re sadly mistaken"
His eyes practically rolled to the back of his head as he advanced closer Close enough that she put a hand up in warning He stopped short, but the rage pouring off hi to Leslie about this"
Courtney admired and respected their head nurse, and hated the idea of their relationship being tainted by this nored the tiny voice in her head that told her to apologize and insteadto file a coo Part of your job, besides respecting people’s boundaries and personal space"--she sent a pointed glance at the few inches between the sure hospital funds are being used wisely Iine what the bosses would say if they realized that half the time you make us stay late and work overtime it’s purely for your own sadistic enjoyment and not because we actually need to be here?"
One of the nurses behind her whispered "Daht" under her breath, but Courtney was focused on Barry, who had gone fro and nervous in a matter of seconds He wet his lips and stepped back "Look, I did need so deal We’ll just let this go and--"
"We won’t let it go, because if it’s not me, it will be someone else and no one should have to put up with this" She stepped away now, feeling better by the second Finally standing up to hiiddy with the sense of freedoht My shift is officially over"
She h but her steps slow andit more of scene than it needed to be So obviously, that ether like the leprechaun from the Lucky Charms commercial was probably out, but damn, did she feel like it
Once the elevator doors closed behind her, though, she did a quick, i She’d effectively shut down Brutal Barry and, once she filed her coot houn to fade, but not the newfound confidence She’d finally done it Stood up for herself with her boss and the world hadn’t ended or anything In fact, she’d never felt better